A few things I'd like to say about this film

Rating: Null/10 (4 December 2002)

I can't find the words to write a compelling review so I'm just going to list my favourite parts. Please don't read on if you haven't already seen the film. Avoid all spoilers and go and watch it.

Firstly, the opening scenes in London were fantastic. It must have been a mammoth task to portray a huge city like that as deserted but they pulled it off. I couldn't understand the double decker though. How would you tip one of those? :-)

The part when Jim enters the church sent chills down my spine. On the one hand I knew something would happen if he said anything but the look on the faces of the two infected springing up when he said `Hello' was inhuman and savage. It was an excellent way to introduce these monsters. Having an infected priest was also an inspired move.

The threesome's visit to Jim's parents house was beautiful. The note he found on the back of the photo especially.

Selina's brutal and heartless slaying of Mark was a brilliant twist. His response when she pounced made you feel sorry for him (a `wait' and then screams of pain) although it was obvious he had been infected.

The introduction of Frank and Hannah got my heart pumping. The last thing you would want to see when you are being chased up some stairs is a frightening looking figure at the top but his direction to them made me smile.

As soon as I saw them enter the tunnel I knew something was going to happen. The movement of the shadows down the tunnel was brilliant. As was the idea to have the rats included.

Jim's disgust at the carnage in the cafÃ© and his actions on the perpetrator were well portrayed. I was unhappy that the scriptwriter decided to have him go in there but I suppose when you seemingly have nothing to live for you make stupid decisions. This scene added to the tension factor of the whole movie.

Someone else has already mentioned it but their stay overnight at those ruins was unbearably tense. I felt uncomfortable watching it and was relieved when they finally left. The dream Jim had was a nice touch at that point.

I may be biased but I really like the part where they reach the barricade. Although this is supposed to be near Manchester, I immediately recognised it as Junction 32 of the M6 near Preston.

Although the whole Army part of the movie was a little out of sorts with the rest of it there were some good bits. When Major West tells Jim `I promised them women' and where Selina tells Hannah `I'm making you not care'. Seeing that Corporal meet a nasty end was satisfying too.

There were just a few things which weren't quite right:

The lab assistant was unbelievable simply due the fact that I recognised him as Tony Hayes from I'm Alan Partridge. I couldn't really stop thinking about that.

A few flashbacks of the television reports from Selina would've been nice. It was done in the Omega Man and worked very well.

They had a helicopter at the barricade. Someone could've flown to Ireland or the Isle of Man to escape the horror. Well, maybe not, I suppose no-one knew if the infection had spread or not.

All in all this was a fantastic film and the kind of nightmare vision I have been waiting for. After Dawn of the Dead, The Stand and others such as Mad Max, this is an excellent and truly terrifying film. As soon as I can I will pre-order this on DVD, turn off the lights and enjoy the tension!